1. Field
The disclosed and claimed concept relates generally to electrical switchgear and, more particularly, to a connection apparatus that is connectable with a neutral bus in a switchgear enclosure.
2. Related Art
Electrical switchgear of numerous types is generally well understood in the relevant art with regard to numerous applications. In nearly all applications, electrical connections made by switchgear are contained within some type of an enclosure such as a load center, a breaker panel, and the like without limitation, in order to avoid unintended contact between exposed electrical conductors and people, by way of example. Some electrical enclosures include stabs that permit circuit interrupters and other devices to be connected with line and load conductors. Certain circuit interrupters additionally require a neutral connection and include a neutral wire that may be connected with a neutral conductor such as a neutral terminal block within the interior of the electrical enclosure. While such devices have been generally effective for their intended purposes, they have not been without limitation.
For instance, previously known neutral terminal blocks have typically been in the form of elongated strips of metal, such as aluminum or another conductor, having a plurality of holes formed therein that are structured to receive neutral wires, and further having a number of set screws that are employable to clamp the neutral wires to the neutral terminal blocks. Since electrical enclosures are available in a variety of sizes and configurations, however, difficulty has sometimes been encountered in trying to stretch a neutral wire from a circuit interrupter to a relatively small neutral terminal block. Other difficulties have been encountered because the neutral terminal block or the wires that are connected therewith have interfered with circuit interrupters, some of which are of varying sizes and shapes, that are sought to be installed in an electrical enclosure.
It thus would be desired to provide a solution that overcomes these and other shortcomings in the art.